fashion / party pants

this outfit is perfect for a shopping day or quick jaunt around town. i got the black and white printed pants from the rack a few months ago, and they literally are as comfortable as sweat pants. they have been dubbed my travel pants because they are so comfy. but- i can still dress them up- which is always a good sign that they aren't just a reincarnation of sweat pants (though if you ask my dad he'll tell you differently). we paired the pants with a ruffle-y tank (from banana republic) and chambray jacket (from soel boutique). really though, it's the heels that make this outfit awesome. i love those electric blue babies like they were my own. they are steve madden and i got them at tjmaxx over two years ago. it's another good sign when you still love something as much as the day you bought it.

entertaining / family first

somehow, my mom gets involved with almost every church event in temecula. maybe that is exaggerating a bit, but it really feels like it. it's her own fault too. if she weren't so multi-talented she would be used much less. she started out making dinners for the masses, but now has gotten in to the decorating side of things.

for those of you who are lds, you know how hard it is to hide the 'cultural hall' with cute decorations. there is lots of space that needs to be filled, high ceilings that need to be dealt with, ugly walls and dividers and ugly chairs and tables. this is how we did it. 

for the entry we hung some super cute curtains as a back drop (to hide a niche in the wall). we layered in a trellis and hung a huge gold sunburst mirror from it. we used one of the basic tables with a black and white striped table cloth. we brought in trees from ace hardware to use throughout the event and used a blossoming tree here. we had magnolia and gilded magnolia branches in jars, and made a sign using the back of a sunburst decoration. (this was definitely our favorite part of the event)

this is the view from the entry facing forward. we made the tables in to an 'x' formation (we had nine total). we strung lights across the top (which would have looked tons better had they been globe lights). there were two large bulletin board-y spaces we have to deal with. we used 99 cent black table cloths and cheap gold ribbon to frame them. then we printed engineer size family pictures (because the event was about families). we backed them with wrapping paper. (i don't have a great picture of these but you can see them on the back wall). we put our big white frame in front of the piano and filled it with gold fringe.

for the tables we rented black table cloths, gold rimmed plates, and raspberry colors napkins. we used our gold chargers (seen here) and wood boxes (seen here). we bought emerald green runners from ikea and added in our cute west elm gold napkins. we filled the boxes with raspberry colored stock and made table numbers using arrows and coasters. we made bow-tie napkins using black patterned papers. on the chairs we tied gold sprayed magnolia leaves with green tulle and a little black and white striped ribbon. we also created a cute sitting area with furniture from my mom's house (very bottom picture).

happy anniversary / engagement photos

today is our second anniversary! i'm going to save you guys from hearing about what an amazing husband jarman is and all the different things i love about him- i'll just tell him in person. this year we aren't doing anything too grandiose for our anniversary (last year we went to new york), we are actually spending the day driving home from our trip to st. george with my family. i know, so romantic. we are thinking about taking a weekend away alone, but we will see if it happens. 

we took our engagements with megan papworth photography at griffith park in la. it was so much fun to go back through the pictures, i love how they turned out! these are the ones we took in our first outfits, i will share our second and third (my personal favorites) later! 

{ps. links to all of the parts of our wedding: the bridals, the decor, the food, the party}

recipe / chicken bellagio

have you ever ordered the chicken bellagio from cheesecake factory? i promise you it is the best thing on the menu. we get it every single time we go, and never feel bad about it because it is just that delicious. sure, we could branch out and try new things. but why would we when we have found the perfect dish? my mom started making a knock-off of the cheesecake factory recipe, and i'm pretty sure it's just as good. please make it for your husband for dinner.

chicken bellagio:

for the chicken:

2 chicken breasts pounded into 1/2 in. thickness (or chicken tenders)

1/2 c. flour with salt and pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 c. panko breadcrumbs (or regular breadcrumbs with seasoning)

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. butter

4 slices prosciutto (room temp)

5 oz. arugula dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper

for the pasta:

8 oz. thin spaghetti

3 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

2 c. heavy cream

1 c. parmesan cheese

1/2 c. pesto (we get ours from costco)

take your chicken and dredge it in flour, then egg wash, and finally the breadcrumbs, patting the breadcrumbs to make a nice coating. saute in a pan with butter and olive oil  for about 10 to 15 minutes until cooked thoroughly (you can add seasoned salt, garlic salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you would like). keep the chicken warm in a dish in the oven on low.

cook the pasta till al dente and while that is cooking make the pesto cream sauce. melt the butter in a pan and add the flour to make a roux. whisk while adding the cream and let it thicken for a few minutes. add the parmesan, and when it is melted add the pesto.  toss the cooked pasta in the sauce.

to assemble:

mound the pasta on the plate with sauce. place a piece of chicken on top of the pasta, and prosciutto on top of the chicken. add a handful of the tossed arugula (see above) on top of the dish. sprinkle fresh parmesan over everything.

bridal shower gift idea / tressa's bedroom makeover

my mom came up with the best idea for bridal showers. rather than having everyone bring random gifts (and subsequently receiving twenty cookie sheets), why not have guests pitch in for the couples first master bedroom? she first tested this idea out at my bridal shower, and it really was so awesome. we had an entire bedroom curated and designed to fit our tastes. this also makes it easier for bridal shower guests: rather than shopping they can just give cash to the decorator and put their name on the card at the end. we did this again for tressa's shower and it was so much fun to be on the giving (shopping) end. i loved designing her room. 

(if you're wondering how we pulled this off logistically: we send out an evite and said to contact bobette about the group gift. people texted/emailed her if they wanted to contribute money and how much. they brought us the money up until the shower and we shopped using the money we would eventually collect. we set the bedroom up in one of the rooms of our house so that she could see the entire thing put together!)

included in her bedroom are: the curtains, lamps, end tables, all of the bedding (duvet, blanket, sheets and throw pillows), the bench, the rug at the end of the bed, the art, and that awesome sunburst mirror (from walmart!).